“Things are changing,” said Jean-Maurice Ripert, French ambassador to China until 2019. Covid led to “an awakening toward China’s expansionist ambitions. The Covid crisis and what’s going on in Hong Kong are opening the eyes of those who didn’t believe it.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-29/europe-reaches-a-tipping-point-over-china-s-hong-kong-gamble

Merkel’s high-wire balancing act has its critics. Nils Schmid, a senior lawmaker with her SDP coalition partner, accused her this week of having an outdated idea of China as an economic partner above all, and of underestimating the “systemic challenges” posed by Beijing.

One EU diplomat who asked not to be named discussing Friday’s foreign ministers call described the bloc’s approach to China as “schizophrenic,” saying that it can’t decide if China is a strategic partner or an aggressive rival.

Wang Yiwei, ex-diplomat at Chinese embassy in Brussels: “They always talk about the rule of law but actually this is the rule of law. Since HK is part of China, of course its future will be decided by the NPC. EU should support this decision but some lobbyists may be against it.”

And Friedolin Strack, the man behind the "Strategic Rival" label, now favours another identity for the EU: "Strong Middle Partner" – sharing US values while cooperating with China on multilateral solutions. “There's a huge potential in positioning EU as a stronger global player."